Altera Performance Group

What You Can Learn From The Dave Matthews Band

Posted on 20. Jun, 2009 by Jay OHare in Differentiation

In case you haven’t heard, DMB (Dave Matthews Band) has a new album out. While the album is being pushed with an incredible amount of promotion it wasn’t always that way. In the pre-internet days of 1993 & 1994 DMB was just getting off the ground and gaining a lot of traction in places where theoretically they shouldn’t have. They’d show up to a new town to play a college gig and not only would it sell out but everyone knew the words; even to songs that weren’t on their one & only album. What was gong on?

Tapes. It turns out that fans were recording the live shows and passing them around the college dorms (remember pre-internet). Inevitably some would get sent to friends at distant colleges and so the music spread. What got all this started was the band manager who not only allowed taping of live shows, he encouraged it. The way he put it, “I stopped thinking like a record exec and started thinking like a fan.” Pure awesomeness. That one simple act of thinking like a fan led to a marketing breakthrough that otherwise never would have happened.

“I stopped thinking like a record exec and started thinking like a fan.”

We’ve seen similar approaches that have lead to success in other industries:
Crocs - By not thinking like a shoe company they invented a huge hit.
Apple – By not thinking like a phone company they created the iPhone and revolutionized the industry.
Dr. Jay Parkinson - By not thinking like a traditional doctor, he’s taking primary care to a whole new level.
On & on…

So what if you stopped thinking like a real estate pro and started thinking like a the people in the market you are trying to reach? What of you took the DMB approach?

Less about you, more about me. Less out-dated headshots, more well crafted information that helps me make a decision. Less BS market reports and more stuff that I want to read. Less spam, more permission. Less focus on commission more focus on value. Less money in print and more money creating amazing online content.

With so much of real estate spewing the same crap just because their competitor is spewing the same crap there is real opportunity to connect with the right people and grow your business by thinking like them instead of thinking like a realtor.